Profile: Nicole Stone

What brought you to Gladstone?

In college, I was torn between pursuing a career as a researcher or as a physician. After completing a post-baccalaureate internship at the National Institutes of Health in a genetics laboratory, I decided that research was my passion and that I did not need to work directly with patients to make a difference in their lives. As an incoming PhD student at the University of California, San Francisco, I was really wowed by some of the papers I had read from the Srivastava laboratory, so I contacted Deepak about working with him. As a physician, Deepak’s goal of improving human health was well aligned with my own, and his research focus always comes back to disease. The tangible goal of helping patients continues to be a great motivator for my work.

What do you like about Gladstone?

I love the sense of community between labs at Gladstone. It is so easy to find collaborators, borrow reagents, or get expert advice from the scientists down the hall. I think the cores are also really great resources. Working with experts in-house rather than across town makes a huge difference in facilitating clear communication. I also enjoy the free coffee quite a lot!

Were you interested in science as a child?

I was definitely interested in science as a child; or rather, I was interested in nature. I read my parents’ gardening books and learned to identify a lot of the indigenous plants where I grew up in rural Indiana. And, like a lot of kids, learning about animals was always my favorite! We didn’t have cable or Internet, so I was always excited when PBS would play nature documentaries, and the upside of going to the dentist was getting to read National Geographic magazines.

Why did you decide to go to graduate school?

When I was 16, I got my first job doing ecology field research at a local university. We caught wild swallowtail butterflies, raised their larvae, and tested our ideas about how those larvae “decide” where and how to form pupae. That work was so much fun that my family and friends convinced me that it could not be a serious career choice. My second, “more serious” job was as a barista. I returned to science shortly after and haven’t gone back.

What or who influenced your decision to work in science?

The scientist I worked with in the ecology lab introduced research to me as this amazingly fun puzzle that we are fortunate enough to get paid to solve. I still think of my work this way…when things are going well!

What do you do when you are not working in the lab?

I’m generally a pretty quiet person, so people are always surprised to learn that I sing in a brass band called the Brass Animals. We’ve been performing around the Bay Area for a couple of years now. I actually joined the band, in part, to help overcome my fear of public speaking, because giving a good talk is such a necessity in our job market. I’ve always enjoyed singing, but the idea of performing was initially terrifying. After 2 years with the band, my nerves before shows, and lab meetings, are much calmer.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I have sometimes joked that my alternative career could be building furniture from driftwood. I love building things, and I’ve always been impressed with the creativity and skill that goes into making something both beautiful and functional.

What is your hidden/unique talent?

My hidden talent is putting together care packages and scavenger hunts for friends. I keep a list of gifts and clue ideas year-round in anticipation of holidays and rainy days.

If you could meet any scientist from any point in time, who would it be and why?

I would be thrilled to meet David Attenborough. He has done so much to foster widespread appreciation of nature’s wonders. I’m sure his work has inspired generations of biologists to pursue an understanding of life. And that voice! His documentaries are always my favorite.